Ravages of War MTG Card

Card Pros

Card Advantage: While Ravages of War doesn’t draw cards, it offers a strategic advantage by decimating all players’ lands. This can translate into a major lead if you can recover your land base faster than your opponents or are positioned to capitalize on a less crowded battlefield.

Resource Acceleration: Despite this card not directly accelerating resources, its power lies in setting everyone back, giving you an opening to pull ahead if you’ve planned around having fewer lands. For instance, playing land-heavy strategies or utilizing artifacts and creatures that produce mana can turn Ravages of War into a pseudo acceleration tool for you.

Instant Speed: Operating at sorcery speed ensures that while you won’t surprise opponents during their turn, the timing of Ravages of War can be meticulously planned to your advantage. You control when the reset button is hit on lands, allowing for calculated plays that align with winning strategies especially beneficial if you are leading in resources or possess a board state that is less reliant on land-based mana.

Card Cons

Specific Mana Cost: Ravages of War demands a precise combination of mana for casting. Tapping into a full playset of mana with one color can prove challenging, especially in a multicolor deck that may not always have the right sources available at the crucial moment.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a cost that requires three colorless and one white mana, Ravages of War is a significant investment during a game. There are alternative cards that can disrupt opponents’ lands at a lower cost, potentially allowing for a more flexible and faster gameplay strategy.

Discard Requirement: While Ravages of War doesn’t have a discard requirement, its mana cost and impact on the board can leave players at a strategic disadvantage. Utilizing this card may require sacrifices in other areas of play, either by holding back mana resources or by not developing the board as aggressively in anticipation of its casting.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Ravages of War fits into numerous deck types, particularly those looking to control the board by resetting everyone’s land-base. It can swing games in your favor by decimating opponents’ resources while you maintain an advantage.

Combo Potential: This card pairs well with land recursion strategies or decks that benefit from having fewer lands in play, allowing you to capitalize on the state of an empty board while recovering your own resources or advancing your board state.

Meta-Relevance: In a format where land-heavy or ramp decks are dominant, introducing Ravages of War disrupts those strategies significantly. Players building their decks around land accumulation will find this card a considerable threat, making it a strategic inclusion in many metagame contexts.

How to beat

Ravages of War is a powerful card in Magic: The Gathering that can be daunting to face on the battlefield. This card is known for its devastating effect of destroying all lands, which resets the mana base for each player and can drastically alter the course of the game. To effectively counteract this, one strategy is to focus on land regeneration abilities or indestructible lands that withstand the card’s impact. Cards like Crucible of Worlds which allows you to play lands from your graveyard, or having a robust mana rock suite can keep your gameplay uninterrupted. Running enchantments that produce mana or creatures that tap for mana can also ensure that you maintain a lead even after a Ravages of War has resolved.

Another approach to beating Ravages of War is through playing at instant speed, casting spells and establishing a board presence before your lands are targeted. Deck types that rely less on lands and more on alternate casting methods or creatures with mana abilities may find it easier to recover from this disruption. Additionally, keeping hand size large with card draw spells ensures that even after lands are destroyed, you have plenty of options for play. The key is to adapt your strategy and have a recovery plan for post-Ravages of War’s resolution.